22 Things I’m Thankful For

My friend Nick says that birthdays are way less about you, and more about celebrating the people that have loved, invested, and shaped who you are today. That’s what this post is about. Without these 22 essential people, organizations, and experiences, I would not be the same Caleb writing these words to you today. Not even close.

I mean c’mon- all I really had to do between last December and today was not die. It’s been the Lord, family, friends, mentors, and situations around me that have truly uplifted me, sustained me, and encouraged me throughout my life.

Thanks for sticking with me for 22 years. I’m incredibly grateful. This post is for you. So let’s get started…

1) My Mom and Dad

Both of these phenomenal people would each need their own blog post for me to fully describe their impact on me. I list them together because that’s what they are- my mom and dad. A singular unit. A real team that loves each other and sticks together always. If you know either of them personally, then you’ve seen just a glimpse of the joy they have brought to my brother and I. Hey, that’s a good segue into number 2.

2) My Brother

My brother Colin is a cool guy. We’re similar in a lot of ways, but also incredibly different. For starters, he is 6’ 3” and a really talented musician. I am neither of those. If we competed in an awesomeness contest, I would probably lose. Hopefully you can meet him when he comes to UGA next year.

3) My awesome extended family

It took getting a little older to realize just how rare it is to have close relationships with extended family. I grew up with amazing grandparents, aunts, uncles, great aunts and uncles, cousins, second/third/fourth cousins, distant cousins (#cousinsfordayz), and i’m-not-really-sure-how-we’re-related-but-I-know-we-are kind of people. I’m mean, get this: My grandmother’s aunt is related to one of Abraham Lincoln’s aunts… yeah. Also, one of my [insert lots of “greats” here] grandfathers was Harold Haarfarger, the first king of Norway. So who’s family is really winning here? We’re basically only second to the royal family.

4) Friends that challenge me and speak truth into my life

Do you have people in your life who have permission to ask you hard questions? You need it. I need it. We need people with whom we can pull back the curtain and work through the messy reality of our hearts. I’m incredibly thankful for trusting friends who allow me to be honest, vulnerable, and real with them.

5) Mentors that have believed in me and invested in my life 

When I was in high school, I met several different leaders that radically changed the way I saw business and the positive impact it could make on the world. I keep in touch with all of them to this very day, and they continually show me the power of running a business that intentionally puts people over profit. I’ve always aspired to be like them- running my own business with a missional purpose and platform.

6) Jon Foreman and Switchfoot

Is it strange to be thankful for a band? Maybe. But this songwriter and group of five guys mean more to me than you might ever know. Their music has been the soundtrack of my life for over 10 years. I’ve never heard a more prolific, challenging song writer like Jon Foreman. Songs like The Shadow Proves the Sunshine, Awakening, Where I Belong, and When We Come Alive contain years and years of my life memories that take me places whenever I listen to them.

7) Tim Keller

I don’t always use Twitter, but when I do, I prefer to favorite and retweet Tim Keller tweets. There are not many people whom I don’t personally know that have impacted my life in such a significant way as Tim Keller has. His writings and sermons have helped deepen my understanding of the gospel. Never heard his sermons or read his books? Try listening to his podcast or reading one of his NY Times Bestsellers like The Reason for God, The Prodigal God, or Generous Justice. He has a unique way of speaking thoughtfully to both Christians and skeptics alike.

8) Johns Creek High School

JCHS opened as a brand-new high school my sophomore year. There’s something really cool about starting something from the very beginning. Many of the traditions that my graduating class started continue on today. Also I really just had a great time in high school. Each year looked completely different from the others- it was like every time I got comfortable and complacent with something, I was able to learn from it, leave it, and try something new again. It was an awesome journey and helped build a nice foundation for my time here at UGA.

9) FCA

This was one of the only aspects of consistency I ever had throughout high school. I never played the same sport for more than a year, or stayed with the same club or organization for more than a year, but I did FCA for a full 4 years. I had the opportunity to serve as president for 3 years and learned so much in that time span. I learned that leadership is not about having a cool title, or a big personality, or knowing all the answers. It comes alive when it’s used for others, and it dies when it’s all about you.

10) The University of Georgia

Oh man. Wow. This one. Without the shadow of a doubt, it is great to be a Georgia Bulldog. I love it here. I could write approximatley 436 blog posts explaining to you why. I don’t even know if that would do it justice. It’s one thing to be a Georgia fan- cheer for the sports teams, visit Athens sometimes, yell “Go Dawgs!” to strangers, etc. It is something entirely different to attend school here. To build relationships here. To be invested here. To be excited and disappointed and joyful and sad and smile and cry and start things and end things and take risks and fail and succeed and mourn and celebrate (I bet you had no idea I could bring out all the feels like that). To do life here. It’s a whole different universe. Ask me in person and I’ll tell you more.

11) RUF and Justin Clement

Getting involved with RUF was hands-down the single most important and best decision I have made in college. I sometimes look back at freshman-year version of me and scratch my head. Kinda like I did in math classes growing up. Justin, the campus minister, has had an enormous impact on my life. He’s challenged me to reflect and examine what I believe and why. To believe something not because it’s exciting or relevant or intellectually stimulating or inherited from my parents, but because it’s true.

 12) Chick-fil-A

My heart says “yes” to this. My arteries, on the other hand, say “noooo!!!” like the time Luke Skywalker found out that Darth Vader was his father. No joke. Chick-fil-A is the jam. I had the incredible honor of serving as an intern at their corporate office last summer and had a blast. Great food, an amazing culture grounded in servant-leadership, and a compelling mission to make a positive difference in the lives of people.

13) Perimeter Church and Randy Pope

Like RUF and Justin, my home church and pastor have been critically foundational to who I have become. As much as our parents influence our lives, the other areas and people we associate with also play a profound role in shaping us. Perimeter and Randy Pope (like Tim Keller) have played a huge role in my life.

14) Starting things that are awesome

I know. That sounds like a really vague thing to be thankful for. “I’m thankful for awesomeness!!”  Huh? I honestly don’t know how to explain it any other way. I just like starting things that I think are awesome. Conferences, podcasts, projects, ideas, blogs, videos. Coming together with a group of people who bring different skills to the table, all for a higher purpose, gets me more jazzed than a can of Red Bull.

15) My Health

I’m a walking contradiction (see #12). We so often take for granted our physical wellbeing. Think how much differently our lives would be without the ability to speak and walk and think- basic life functions. We aren’t guaranteed to have any of those things tomorrow. We often become aggitated about tiny health problems- an injury from sports, or a cavity in our tooth, or pain from stubbing our toe, or a few bumps on our face, while many people are battling cancer or can’t walk or think or even speak. Let’s be thankful and steward our health, whatever level it may be, with excellence.

16) Times that I wanted to walk away and quit  

I should show you my middle finger some time. Not because I want to say something mean to you, but so you can see the massive callous I accumulated on it from taking over 500 pages of notes from my AP U.S. History class in high school. It was brutal. Some nights I wanted to walk away from it and quit. I’ve had moments like that in college too. You’re so overloaded with commitments that you feel like walking off the field in the middle of a big game. I’ve learned though that those seasons of life can actually be incredibly fruitful. They stretch and grow you in ways you didn’t think possible. It also challenges you to manage your time well. Without those longs nights in high school taking notes and grinding it out, I probably would not have made it to UGA.

17) Moments that required guts 

On Prom night my junior year of high school, I made the decision to remove myself and my date from a social situation that I knew we did not need to be in for several important reasons. It required us visibly leaving right in front of our peers, knowing we would see them the very next week at school. I later heard a friend say that what I did took guts, and that he respected me for it. But not everyone. One person took to Twitter and publicly criticized me for it. Seesh! High schoolers, man!  Moments like that have always stuck with me. Going against the grain. Doing something unpopular that you might get criticized for. Leading with conviction and purpose.

18) Times that I needed to ask for forgiveness

I cannot think of a better way to learn humility than to own your mistakes. I’ve certainly made plenty of them. There is tremendous value and trust that can be restored by telling someone that you are sincerely sorry- that you were wrong. Ironically, you almost always end up gaining a greater level of respect from the other person. When you drop your walls and your need to project an image of always being right, people resonate and connect with such a deep level of honesty and vulnerability. It points us to the one who, though he never made any mistakes at all, become completely and cosmically vulnerable for us. That creates life change.

19) Reminders that every moment is a gift 

A few months ago, a couple friends and I were almost in a head-on-collision with another car as we were driving home from an RUF leadership retreat. It was insane. I came within a couple seconds of potentially being killed. There I was. Two days away from starting my senior year of college. I had everything going for me. Life was awesome. And it was almost taken away. A couple summers ago, my family received some disturbing news that led us to believe that my dad had serious cancer. I was shellshocked. Fortunately, he was actually completely fine. But once again, what a reminder that life is a gift. It’s fragile, and we so easily forget that. We’re not in control, no matter how much we feel like we are. As Paul so accurately stated, “to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Amen! But let’s also cherish every moment we have on earth.

20) Times that I failed miserably  

Friday, October 21st, 2011 was one of those times. I was the punter on my school’s football team my senior year of high school (getting to that point is a crazy story in and of itself- ask me about it sometime!) Most of my punts were decent and I even won “Special Teams Player of the Week” in the game against our biggest rival. Friday, October 21st was a road game and the first cold game of the year. Lined up for my first punt of the game, I completely dropped the snap and had to pick it up and run. I ran an incredible 2.5 steps before getting slammed into the turf. I dislocated my shoulder for a couple seconds and heard this massive pop and felt it jar back into place as I got up for the long, slow walk back to the sidelines. Confidence. Gone. It ran away faster than Usain Bolt. It was all down hill from there. I shanked another punt later on the game and my other punts were not spectacular. I wanted out of there. I didn’t see my performance as a failure, I saw myself as a failure. When your performance defines your identity, you will be a wreck. You can never live up. You’ll always be chasing and struggling and crumbling under the weight of expectations and it will literally eat you alive. That’s why I am thankful for failures. It forces me to ask myself- who is defining my identity?

21) Dancing

I read an article the other day that basically said that dancing with friends is the equivalent of a group therapy session. Dancing is the jam and apparently it has health benefits as well. I’ve written a couple posts about why I think dancing is awesome. I’m not all that good at it, but it’s a blast. From good ‘ol swing songs like Chuck Berry’s Johnny B. Goode and MJ’s The Way You Make Me Feel, to the mind-bogglingly epic bass drop on Skrillex’s Cinema, dancing is one of my favorite things to do in life.

22) Jesus, the scriptures, and the gospel  

A modern person’s view of Jesus generally revolves around the idea that he was a great moral teacher who did some good things in the world, but that many of his teachings are outdated and regressive. If the scriptures are true, however, (thereby eliminating the possibility that he was merely a legend), then we are not given that option. Someone who was a nice guy and a good moral teacher would not make the outrageous, offensive claims Jesus made. He was either a decieving liar, a deluded lunatic, or God’s son. We will either hate him or crown him. Curse his name or bless his name. He will be of no importance or of infinite importance, but not moderate importance. The gospel, then, is not about moral performance- keeping all the rules and earning your favor with God. It has everything to do with who Jesus is and why he came to earth- to live, die, rise again and petition for us through his blood shed on the cross.

In the words of Tim Keller, “The basic premise of religion–that if you try hard to be good, things will go well for you is wrong. Jesus lived perfectly yet suffered. God is so committed to your ultimate joy that he was willing to plunge into the greatest depths of suffering himself for you.”

21st Birthday Post:  21 Things I’ve Learned in 21 Years

20th Birthday Post: The Teen Years